Seattle Sounders FC

There is a lot going on in a little bit of time to prepare for Tuesday’s massive U.S. Open Cup championship match against Seattle Sounders (7:30 p.m., purchase tickets). The hard part is done, but buttoning up all the loose ends to ensure the experience is one you won’t soon forget is the grind.

Want to know what it’s like the day before a final if you work for a professional sports team?

If I’m being honest, it’s extremely stressful.

But it’s so worth it.

Monday started off with an early AM visit from Fox 29’s “Good Day Philadelphia” show as the ever spunky Jennaphr Frederick was on hand at PPL Park to preview the match and get the dirt on some of our players and coaches. The Good Day crew was on site for close to three hours getting the dish so it made for a nice morning in the news.

Speaking of being in the news, the pregame press conference for Tuesday’s match was held today at the PPL Park interview as Union representatives Jim Curtin and top USOC goalscorer Sebastien Le Toux sat on the podium alongside Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid and forward Kenny Cooper to field questions from media. It was your atypical presser, but the crowd on hand got a rise from both Le Toux and Cooper owning up to the fact they could be twins.

Also, this quote from Curtin was pretty awesome:

“This is something our fans deserve. We have the best fans in the league and I think they deserve a trophy…it’s something that means a lot to me. Being from this city, to [win the U.S. Open Cup final] here would be special. Being from here, yeah I feel the weight of not wanting to let the city down; so we want to win, hands down.”

In the midst of all this Open Cup preparation, philadelphiaunion.com caught up with Union CEO and operating partner Nick Sakiewicz for a Q&A that will run later this week. We asked Sakiewicz some pretty tough questions all of which he answered including this one about the current state of the “coaching search.”

“I may or may not resume the coaching search. The team is in good form. We’re winning games. I’ve been very much in communication with Jim and the other staff members. They all know what the mission is and what the clear objectives and goals are for the club. And that’s not going to change. If there are additions to the technical staff, they’ll only be made to add to the current situation, because the current group of guys running the club is doing a pretty good job.”

That from Sakiewicz and much more later this week.

Moving on…

If you haven’t yet, follow MLS on SnapChat; now normally we wouldn’t go out of our way to plug the League, but we’ll make an exception as they’ve allowed Maurice Edu to take over their account for the next 24 hours. This is Edu’s second time taking over MLS’ various social platforms and it’s always been good. Click the image below to log on or sign up.

When it comes to training, people like to debate about what is the best way to increase an athlete’s power and explosiveness. Some people believe Olympic lifting is the best tool to increase an athlete’s power output. Others believe CrossFit or kettlebell training are the most effective way at increasing an athlete’s power. We can argue this point all day long and the reality is I don’t believe that there is one single way to increase your power. However, I do believe that there is a very effective tool for athletes to use when it comes to increasing power output and that tool is a medicine ball.

Most coaches know that in order to increase power a lot of factors must go into the equation. Here are just a few of the things that we need to do in order to increase power output:

Increase your force into the ground.

Increase total body strength.

Increase the speed of movement.

Ensure proper alignment while we train.

Focus on ways to properly decelerate our body.

Maintain proper breathing patterns.

The ability to stabilize under load.

As much as I like Olympic lifting and kettlebell training, I believe the best tool for teaching power output at the beginning of a training program is to use a medicine ball. A few reasons why I prefer to use a medicine ball at the beginning of an athlete’s training program are:

For most people throwing an object comes natural.

It’s fun. People like to throw things and this gives them the license to throw an object as hard as possible once they have good form.

It’s safe. Instead of lifting a weight over your head with the fear of dropping it on your head a medicine ball is a great tool to teach the mechanics of several more advanced lifts.

You can take the medicine ball anywhere and train on your own.

With this one tool I can work on speed, power, deceleration, change of direction, endurance, proprioception and mobility.

These are just a few examples of why I like to use medicine balls in a training program. The reality is a number of elite athlete’s use these in their everyday training program. As I stated above, I use this at the beginning of a training program with new athletes, however, elite athletes use these daily for incredible results.

When it comes to training with medicine balls there are so many exercises to choose from. You are only limited by your imagination. Below are five exercise video clips that I have put together for you to review. As always ensure that you use proper form and start slow. If you have any pain (shoulder, back, etc.) back off of these exercises and consult with a medical professional.

Regardless of your sport medicine ball training is a fantastic way to increase your power. Athletes from every sport can benefit from the rotational power as well as well the increase in aerobic output that they will see from this type of training. If you have kids this is a great way to slowly introduce them to the world of training. I guarantee that if you start slow and use a very light medicine ball kids will enjoy this type of training. Adults, if you are looking to drop a few pounds or increase your running speed implement medicine ball training into your routine.

Enjoy!

Have a question for Union strength coach Kevin Miller? Leave it in the comments below.